[May 05, 2014]
(Reuters) - U.S. public pension funds
returned a median 1.87 percent in the first quarter of 2014,
slightly outperforming the 1.66 percent returns for the larger
universe of institutional investment plans, according to a report to
be released on Monday.

The results this year are far below the first quarter of last year,
when public pensions returned a median 5.2 percent.

However, the annual median return for public funds remains high, at
12.94 percent, after the first quarter of 2014, the data from the
Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service showed.

Double-digit annual returns in 2013 began to give states' and
cities' retirement systems a chance to start implementing reforms to
fix gaping deficits.

"While this is the third positive quarter in a row, returns remain
below the classic 1.82 percent or higher quarterly return target
required for an annualized 7.5 percent return," said Wilshire
Managing Director Robert Waid, referring to the overall results.